That Which Does Not Kill Us
by storylover18
Summary: Running from Voldemort, undesirables Harry, Hermione and Ron aren't tested by Death Eaters but by a mysterious sickness. It's up to Harry and Hermione to make sure that Ron's illness only makes them stronger. Cannon with DH book - friendship stuff.
1. The Beginning

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

**Top of the morning to you all. Hope you're all doing well…for all you students, the end is in sight! What a great feeling =) So I've had an idea of this sort for the past like 2 weeks but I haven't been able to write anything until last night and when this came out, I was pretty pleased. I hope you enjoy another one of my cute, fluffy friendship 'flu-fics', this time starring Ron Weasley! **

It had been raining for exactly 4 days, 3 hours and 52 minutes straight. How did Harry, Ron and Hermione know this? Well, when you're on the run and confined to the small space of a tent, you run out of things to do pretty quickly. One night they had even been so bored that they put the rising figure into seconds (it had been something like 187 000 seconds at the time).

Days and nights blended together, although time seemed to crawl by. Not much was spoken about besides the next step to their plan, the next destination. The locket/horcrux was passed from person to person. On average, it was downright depressing.

Tuesday morning dawned grey and misting. Harry found Hermione looking out the front flap of the tent, starring out at the endless grey.

"At least the rain's let up." Harry said encouragingly.

"I suppose."

Hermione turned and left Harry at the tent flap. She sat near the fire and held out her hands.

"We should move today."

Harry joined her. Ron was still sleeping and it was his turn with the horcrux, so that suited Harry and Hermione just fine.

"Where to this time?"

"I don't know. Got any place you want to visit?"

A small smile crept across her lips and Harry burst out laughing. It wasn't that funny but somehow, the laughter was contagious and soon Hermione was laughing so hard she had tears streaming down her face. Their laughter woke Ron, who sat up and glared at them from his bunk. He did not appreciate being woken up.

"What's so funny?"

Harry managed to gasp enough of a breath to say, "Nothing. Sorry for waking you." before another fit of laughter came over him. Ron glared at them for a few more seconds and then rolled over grumpily.

"Can't even get a bit of peace and quiet, the stupid gits."

Hermione and Harry finally got control of their laughter and Hermione sighed happily. It had felt so good to laugh…if only Ron had joined in.

"Seriously, though. Where should we go?" Hermione asked, still trying to catch her breath. Harry shrugged.

"Preferably somewhere it's not raining."

"I second that!" Ron called from his bed.

"How about Dover? I've always wanted to see the white cliffs."

"Sounds good to me."

"So do you want to get Ron up or should I?" Hermione had lowered her voice and leaned closer to Harry.

"I'll do it. You start getting everything ready."

Hermione was relieved that Harry was going to get Ron and endure his wrath and she got up and began sorting through her beaded bag.

"Ron." Harry approached the bed. "Ron, get up. I know you're awake."

Ron rolled over and glared at Harry again.

"We're moving."

"Again? I don't get why we're doing all of this. We have protective charms, don't we?"

Harry ignored Ron's protests and threw him a sweatshirt.

"It's cold out. Come on, I bet Hermione's just about ready to pack the tent."

Harry walked away from the bunk and left Ron glowering at his retreating form. Rolling his eyes, Ron pulled on the sweatshirt and got out of bed. He joined Harry and Hermione outside the tent and watched silently as Hermione collapsed the tent and stowed it in the bag. They joined arms and spun away into the darkness.

-HARRY POTTER-

When they appeared on a grassy hilltop, the first thing Ron did was complain.

"It's raining here too! Honestly Hermione, you couldn't have brought us somewhere dry?"

Ignoring Ron's outburst, Hermione walked in a circle, chanting the spells off one by one. Harry saw her eyes were brimming with tears as she did so and he turned to Ron.

"Lay off, okay? Just because you're wearing that thing, doesn't give you the right to hurt everyone's feelings. Hermione has no control over the weather."

"And I bet you have no control over anything else that's going wrong, do you?"

Harry stepped back as if he had been slapped in the face. He set his jaw firm.

"It's my turn to wear the horcrux."

Ron took off the chain and dropped the locket into his Harry's outstretched hand.

Harry put the necklace on and tucked it under his sweatshirt, immediately feeling like a weight had been put on his shoulders. Not wanting to speak with Ron, Harry found the tent and with a wave of his wand put it up.

"Home sweet home." Ron muttered, retreating inside and out of the rain, which was falling harder. Dumping his sweatshirt back on the ground, Ron flopped on his bed.

"What are we going to do today?" he asked, starring at the patterns that the rain was leaving on the canvas. Harry and Hermione stood in the doorway and looked at each other.

"We could talk about our next step again."

"We could. But we'd just end where we started. No where."

Obviously, the effects of the horcrux had not worn off Ron just yet.

"Are you hungry, Ron?" Hermione tried to coax the process along.

"I'm always hungry."

"We have a few fish that Harry caught yesterday."

Hermione hurried off to cook the fish and Harry sat down by the fire. He and Ron starred at each other.

"What?" Ron asked after a few minutes.

"Nothing."

An awkward and tense silence filled the tent and sounds of Hermione cooking could be heard. A few moments later, she had set the table with three small helpings of fish.

"Lunch." she said cheerfully, trying to improve the ambiance. Harry and Ron sat on the same side of the table but Hermione noticed the nicely spaced gap they left between themselves. Harry and Hermione picked at their fish but Ron practically swallowed his whole.

"How are you not hungry?" Ron demanded, seeing the mostly untouched fish.

Harry shrugged.  
"I'm used to it."

Ron looked at Hermione.

"I lose my appetite when I get yelled at."

Ron hung his face in shame.

"About that…" his voice trailed off for a minute. "Hermione, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean what I said to you. Same to you, Harry."

Ron raised his head and looked Hermione in the eyes and then Harry.

"I don't know why I say those things. It's the bloody horcrux. It takes hold of me and it doesn't let go. It controls me."

"It's okay, Ron." Hermione said quietly. "Nobody likes wearing it."

"But," Harry looked Ron stern in the eye. "You do need to learn to not let it get the better of you."

"I'll work on it, mate. I promise."

"Alright then. Moving on." Harry's voice clearly said the conversation was over.

"You want this?" Harry asked, pushing his plate towards Ron. Ron protested that he couldn't take Harry's meal but Harry insisted and Ron had soon polished off Harry's plate. Hermione had finished off her fish quickly as soon as Ron had apologized. It wasn't long before the table was clear of all specs of food and the dishes had been washed.

"So what now?" Ron asked. "Want to play cards?"

"Sure."

"Hermione?"

"No thanks. I think I'm going to take a nap. Your snoring kept me up last night, Ron."

Hermione left the table and retreated to her bed. Crawling under the blanket, she let her eyes drift in and out of focus and the soft pattering of rain on canvas dulled her to sleep.

Ron and Harry played cards for over two hours. They had just finished their ninth game when they decided it was time to end the marathon for now. They went and sat near the fire and Harry let his eyes be entranced by the dancing flames. He only broke out of his dazed state when Ron's chair shoved back and Ron made a dash outside.

"Ron?" Harry ran after his friend. Within a minute, he was soaked to the bone and he walked around the tent to find Ron on his knees with a pool of vomit in front of him.

"Are you okay?"

Ron's response was to kneel over again. Harry ran into the tent and shook Hermione's shoulder.

"Hermione! Wake up!"

"What? What's wrong?" Hermione shot up with her wand poised and ready. She saw Harry's panicked face.

"Harry, what's wrong? Why are you wet?"

"It's Ron. Quick!"

Harry grabbed Hermione's hand and pulled her outside into the rain and around the tent. Hermione's eyes grew large at the sight of Ron and she immediately dropped to her knees next to him.

"Ron, what's wrong?"

"Don't know." Ron murmured. "Started feeling sick and all of a sudden - "

Ron threw up again. Hermione turned to look at Harry, who looked panicked.

"Come on. We need to get him inside."

Harry waited until Ron was through before going to his other side and together, he and Hermione pulled him to his feet and slowly led him into the tent. They sat him on the chair by the fire. Harry found a towel and Hermione summoned a basin from the kitchen, which she placed in Ron's hands.

"What's wrong with him?" Harry asked quietly.

"I don't know. Where's my bag?"

"_Accio _bag."

The bag flew into Harry's hands and he handed it to Hermione, who began pawing through it while Ron was sick again. She snapped the bag closed in frustration.

"Why didn't I think to pack things for potions?" she demanded of herself.

"Well, we didn't exactly have advanced warning of departure." Harry reminded her.

"Yes, but why did I think to even consider that one of us might get sick out here? Potion ingredients should've been one of the first things in!"

Harry stepped in front of Hermione.

"You can't blame yourself. It won't do anyone any good, Ron especially. We need to figure out what we can do to help him with what we have. Okay?"

Hermione nodded; Harry's reality check had calmed her down and she pulled up a chair next to Ron.

"Okay, Ron. You need to tell me exactly what's wrong if we're going to figure this out."

Ron drew in a shaky breath.

"I started feeling sick about an hour ago. We were playing cards."

Ron looked up at Harry, who nodded.

"My stomach started feeling really tight and well, you know what happened."

"Does anything else hurt, besides your stomach?"

"My head."

"Anything else?"

Ron shook his head miserably. Hermione laid her hand on Ron's cheek.

"He's burning up." she murmured to Harry. "He should be in bed."

"I'll help Ron; you go see if you can find anything that'll help him."

Hermione nodded and stood up. While Harry helped Ron into dry clothes and bed, Hermione emptied everything from her beaded bag and began looking at each item before tossing it back in. Harry came in a few moments later to see the huge pile of stuff on the table.

"No wonder that bag sounded so heavy." he said, picking up what appeared to be a brick and studying it.

"What were we going to use this for?"

Hermione glanced up from the book she was paging through.

"Oh, don't you remember McGonagall telling us that a brick is one of the best things to transform into hand tools?"

Harry didn't remember and put the brick down.

"What's Ron doing?"

"Trying to fall asleep. How can I help?"

Hermione put her book down and buried her head in her hands and to Harry's surprise, she burst out crying.

"I…I dunno…what to do…" she sobbed.

Harry sat next to her and put her arm around her shoulder, rubbing her arm soothingly.

"It's okay, Hermione. We'll figure something out."

These words did little to comfort Hermione and she cried until she was exhausted. Harry took control and stood up, the pile of junk on the table almost as tall as him.

"The first step in helping Ron is figuring out why this happened, right?"

Hermione nodded and rubbed her eyes.

"Okay, let's go through all the books we have here and write down anything we can find about anything that sounds like Ron's got."

Hermione, glad that Harry was keeping his head, nodded and accepted the book he handed her. Together they hunkered down and began reading.

**I know, 'tis rather fluffy but hey, I like it. Do you? **


	2. The Diagnosis

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

**Thanks to all those who read the first chapter and liked it! I hope this chapter is satisfactory =) **

"Spattergroit?" Harry read from a list of ailments he had made.

"No." Hermione shot it down.

"Vanishing sickness?"

"No."

"Scrofungulus?"

"No."

"Dragon pox?"

"No."

"Cursed?"

"By who?"

"Good point. Wizard's Flu?"

"Possible. Don't forget, he could've come down with a Muggle sickness."

Hermione and Harry sat amidst piles of books and numerous pieces of parchment that had been scribbled on.

"What kind of Muggle sickness?"

Hermione shrugged.  
"I don't know. Could have been something he ate or drank. He could be having an allergic reaction to something."

"He's not allergic to anything. I've seen him eat everything we've had in the past month before and been fine."

"Okay. What if the fish was bad?"

"We all ate the fish and you and I aren't puking everything up."

"Did you catch the fish at the same time?"

Harry thought back to when he was fishing in the forest they had been camping in. There had been many tiny swamp-like ponds. He remembered that fishing trip clearly because it had been during that excursion that the rain had begun.  
"All at the same time but at different ponds."

"What do you mean?"

"Remember how many little ponds there were there? Well, I caught two fish in one and then the third was in a different pond."

Harry's words seemed to peak Hermione's interest and she quickly pulled a book from the stack, causing several to fall to the floor in a loud _thud_.

"Who's there?" Ron's voice wafted weakly through the tent.

"It's nothing, Ron. Go back to sleep." Harry called as he picked up the books.

"Here it is! Giardiasis…it's an infection you get it from drinking unclean water or eating bad food. Ron must've eaten the one fish from the different pond and I'll bet anything that the water of that pond was contaminated. That's why we're not getting sick."

"What are the symptoms?"

Hermione scanned the page quickly.  
"Fever, abdominal pain, headache, loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting – just about everything Ron described."

Harry had to admit that it did seem to fit.

"So how do we treat it?"

Hermione continued down the page.

"There's not much we can do, given that we don't have any medicines, magical or Muggle. It says here that the biggest risk is dehydration so it's important to make sure he drinks a ton of water, even if it comes right up again."

Hermione looked up to see that Harry didn't look convinced.

"What's wrong?"

"It's just that…" Harry's voice trailed off as he tried to find the words. "It's just that that doesn't seem like a lot to help him. I mean, he's miserable in there, Hermione! And all we can do is just 'give him water'?"

Hermione smiled slightly, although she hid it very well. Harry's concern was touching.

"There are other things we can do."

"For example?"

"Well, for his fever we can use a cool cloth to bring it down. Or we can make him sweat it out – ginger is good for that, but I don't think we have any ginger. We could just pile on the clothes … that might work. I know a couple of good remedies for an upset stomach and I think I have enough to make them. We should make him more comfortable – that bed isn't that comfy and leaning over to the side to throw up every few minutes has to be sore on the back. We'll do all we can to help him, Harry."

Hermione's speech seemed to have convinced Harry that Ron was going to be okay and he felt the need to apologize for his lack of knowledge on the subject.

"Sorry, I'm new at this. Somehow, I've always managed to be the one being taken care of."

"You do have a funny way of always ending in the Hospital Wing." Hermione had to agree with a chuckle.

"But most of those were not my fault!" Harry protested.

"Still, you always seem to manage it. Come on, let's pack all this up and then check on Ron."

Having a wand made cleaning up a breeze and the two of them made their way to Ron's bed. Hermione sat on the edge and Harry stood a few feet back, unsure what to do. Hermione laid her slender hand on Ron's forehead.

"Her'ione?" Ron mumbled.

"It's me. How do you feel?"

Ron raised his head from the pillow a few inches, just enough to look around before deciding his head was too heavy and let if fall down again. He groaned.

"That good, huh?" Harry asked.

"What is wrong with me?" Ron asked after being sick suddenly. Hermione had rubbed Ron's back soothingly until he was finished.

"We think that the fish that you ate has something to do with it. We think the pond it was living in was contaminated."

"How do you know that?" Ron grimaced and laid a hand on his stomach, applying a slight pressure that seemed to ease the pain.

"We can't be sure but it sounds exactly like what you've got. The fever, headache, nausea, vomiting; it all points to Giardiasis. Unless…have you had any other water at some point that we didn't boil first? Did you eat something strange?"

Ron's eyes shifted from Hermione to Harry.

"'Couple days ago." he muttered before leaning over the side of the bed again. Hermione turned to Harry, who looked shocked before turning back to Ron, rubbing his back and helping him sit back up.

"What did you do?" Hermione's voice was serious and she stared intently at Ron, who shifted uncomfortably.

"'Couple of days ago." Ron repeated, panting a little. "I was wearing the horcrux and remember I stormed out? Well, I found a little creek and I was thirsty. It looked clean enough so I had a drink."

Hermione sighed and Harry couldn't tell if she was annoyed or relieved.

"I'm sorry…I didn't know this would happen." Ron sounded like he was about to cry.

He hung his head in shame and Harry hoped Hermione would say something comforting so he wouldn't have to. Inside he was having an internal battle about how stupid Ron had been and that he deserved every bit of this versus he should be feeling really sorry for his best friend and he _had_ been under the control of the horcrux when it happened. Either way, Harry did not trust himself to open his mouth.

"Ron," Hermione looked Ron straight in the eyes again. "It's okay. At least now we know for sure what's making you so sick. And now we can fight it."

Ron looked as though he didn't know if he should believe Hermione or not. Maybe he was having his own eternal battle, Harry thought.

"Just don't do it again." Hermione said with a smile and her face relaxed. "You scared us. We were really worried about you. We still are, for that matter. This is serious stuff we're dealing with and we don't want anything to happen to you."

Ron looked at Harry, who nodded truthfully. Deep down, Harry felt bad for his friend.

"But how do we get rid of this…what did you say it's called?"

"Giardiasis. It's an infection that you get from parasites living in contaminated food or water. They begin to live in your intestines. That's what makes you so sick."

Ron looked rather green at the idea of having parasites in his intestines and Harry quickly cleared his throat.

"To answer your question Ron, we don't have any medicine that will get rid of it and in a sense, it's just a matter of being sick enough times so that the bacteria clears out. But Hermione had some ideas to make you more comfortable."

"Like what?" Ron looked to Hermione.

"I think I have enough stuff to make some stomach-friendly foods, we can try them. Also, we can try to get your fever down with a compress."

"I'll look stupid." Ron protested at the idea of having a cloth laid across his face.

"We don't care what you look like." Harry said quickly. "Trust me; we've seen you in the morning. This won't be nearly as hard on the eyes as that."

"Besides, isn't it worth it if you feel better?" Hermione asked and Ron shook his head defiantly.

"Well, we could always make you sweat it out."

"Fine. I'm not doing the other thing though."

Hermione rolled her eyes but truthfully, she had expected no less from him.

"Come on, let's get you sitting more comfortably."

Harry and Hermione used extra pillows, blankets and sweatshirts to prop Ron up and Hermione placed the basin on the bedside table.

"There. This was you won't have to lean over every time. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to see if I can find some ginger but don't get your hopes up. I can't imagine why I would bring ginger but maybe there's some in one of the cupboards in the kitchen or something."

Hermione left but Harry stayed where he was.

"That was a stupid thing to do, Ron." he said flatly, lacking Hermione's compassion.

"I know."

"Do you have any idea how scared we were? I mean, first I come outside to find my best friend retching all over the place and then the smartest witch I know doesn't have a clue what's wrong with you. That's not exactly a comforting thought."

"I know." Ron repeated and Harry felt better having vented out some of his feelings and he softened his voice.

"Hermione was crying, you know."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. She didn't know how to help you at first. She was worried about you."

Ron's ears turned red.

"I don't know what to say besides I'm sorry and I promise I won't do it again."

"You don't have to say anything else. Just work on getting better."

"Let's hope Hermione finds some ginger. I refuse to wear one of those cloth things."

Harry rolled his eyes and he could see that Ron was beginning to gag. He hurried to the side of the bed and handed the basin to Ron.

"It's not so bad," Harry said, trying to sound encouraging. "Just think of all those little parasites coming up and you'll be better in no time."

Ron's only response was to throw up again.

**I feel quite bad for Ron…of all the things I hate, throwing up is the worst! A review might help him feel better…**


	3. Sweet Dreams

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

**Hey everyone. I haven't forgotten about this but I'm finding it hard to continue. It seems I've lost a bit of motivation, plus it's exam time. However, I did find it in me tonight to write this chapter. So I hope you enjoy.**

For awhile, things were somewhat quiet and uneventful and slowly the afternoon turned into early evening. Hermione began going through every cabinet in the tent's small kitchen, looking for ginger or anything else she thought might help Ron in any way, shape or form. Harry stayed with Ron for the better half of the afternoon, talking with him when he was awake, cleaning up after he was sick and just sitting next to his bed when he was asleep. He kept turning the golden snitch Dumbledore had given him over and over again in his hands during the quiet periods. Ron went through countless cycles of sleeping, vomiting and restless periods of sleeplessness.

Early that evening, Ron was asleep when Harry went and found Hermione in the kitchen. He walked in and saw her sitting on the floor; her ponytail was falling out and her eyes looked hollow, with bags under them. All around her were bottles, a few vials, some pots and empty jars. There was one jar on the counter that looked like it contained some kind of preserve.

"No luck, huh?" Harry asked, leaning against the counter.

"None." Hermione sighed. "How's Ron?"

"He's asleep right now but he should wake up soon. He never stays sleeping long."

"Has he been sick a lot?"

Harry nodded.

"I've been giving him tons of water and a lot of the time, that's all that really comes up."

"That's a good sign." Hermione said, pushing herself up. Harry extended a hand and helped her off the floor.

"Maybe that means this whole ordeal will be short lived."

"We can only hope."

"I was wondering," Hermione began as she leaned on the counter opposite Harry. "If we should try and give him some food."

"Are you mad?" Harry exclaimed. "He puts up a fuss with just water. Food would be ridiculous."

"Who'd have ever thought that Ron Weasley would ever turn down food?" Hermione mused and Harry smiled and gave a small chuckle before lapping into silence.

"Where's the horcrux?" Hermione asked suddenly. She looked at Harry's neck to see the chain was no longer there.

"Oh, I took it off. We need to focus on Ron. I figured we'll start wearing it when there are three of us again."

Hermione nodded wearily and yawned.

"You look beat." Harry told Hermione.

"So do you."

"Why don't you get a few hours sleep and then we'll trade off."

"But -" Hermione began but Harry pushed her out of the tiny kitchen towards her bed.

"Believe me, you'll feel better. Your body will be rested and your mind will be much clearer."

Hermione opened her mouth to protest again.

"I promise," Harry said, pushing her down onto her bed. "That I will wake you the minute something changes, okay?"

"Okay." Hermione gave in and Harry watched as she crawled under her blankets and fell asleep almost instantly. Harry tucked the blankets around her before going back to his chair beside Ron. The noise aroused Ron.

"Harry, is that you?" Ron mumbled, slowly opening his eyes.

"Yeah, it's me. How do you feel?"

"Lousy." Ron muttered. "Where's Hermione?"

"She's getting some sleep."

"Oh." Ron's voice held disappointment that even Harry could hear.

"She was going to try and make you eat something."

"Is she crazy?" Ron asked, slowly becoming more aware of his surroundings.

"That's what I said. I told you her that you were giving me a hard time about drinking, never mind eating. Speaking of which,"

Harry held out a canteen to Ron.

"You should drink some more."

After the normal argument, Ron finally let Harry help him sit up and he took a few gulps of water.

"Am I ever going to get better?" Ron moaned as he lay down again.

"Of course you are. Hermione and I are going to make sure of that."

"Did Hermione find any ginger?"

Harry shook his head as he sat down again.

"She tore the kitchen apart looking but she didn't find anything that could be of any use, unfortunately. The only thing that was worth anything was a jar of jam that looks like it might be fifty years old."

"But it's food." Ron pointed out.

"Well, I'm not desperate enough to eat it, I don't think."

"Hmm. Harry, I feel really weird." Ron's voice was distant and Harry became instantly concerned. He stood to get a better view of his friend's face.

"Weird how, Ron? What's wrong?"

"I just feel really warm and stiff all of a sudden."

"Are you going to be sick?" Harry asked, noticing Ron's face was going paler. Ron didn't say anything and Harry knew that that meant yes. Ron threw up the water he had just drunk before slumping back on the pillows.

"Ron?" Harry asked quickly, noticing that Ron's eyes had slid closed. Harry quickly put the basin on the table, spilling some of its contents.

"Ron, are you okay?"

Ron didn't answer and he didn't open his eyes.

"Ron!" Harry was practically shouting. "Hermione! Come quick!"

Harry didn't know what to do to help his friend so he just kept saying Ron's name and a minute later, Hermione flew into the room, looking frazzled.

"What happened?" she asked frantically, running to Ron's side.

"He said he felt really warm and stiff and then he was sick. After that, he became unresponsive. What happened?"

Hermione didn't answer but laid a hand on Ron's forehead.

"Quick, Harry, I need a cloth and cool water."

Harry turned to Ron's basin, muttered _Tergio _and then _Aguamenti_.

"_Accio_ cloth." Harry held out his wand and a second later, a cloth came whizzing from the direction of the kitchen. He handed it to Hermione who quickly dunked it in the water and placed in on Ron's skin. She began wiping down his face while Harry watched nervously.

After a few tense seconds, Ron's eyes fluttered open and Hermione breathed an audible sigh of relief.

"Ron." Hermione spoke loudly and Ron's eyes focused and then shifted to look at Hermione. He tried to sit up but Hermione pushed him down gently.

"Easy, Ron. Don't move too fast."

"What happened?" Ron asked, seeing the fear in his friends' faces.

"You told me you felt funny and then you were sick. After that, you sort of blacked out."

Ron's eyes flickered to Harry.

"How do you feel now?" Hermione asked gently, sitting on the side of the bed. She resumed wiping Ron's face and Ron did not object.

"Really warm."

Harry believed that; Ron's face had turned beet red and his eyes were bright and glassy.

"What happened to me, Hermione?"

Even Ron sounded scared and Hermione sighed.

"I think your fever spiked." she said, not making eye contact. "Your body got so warm so quickly that it was too much and you passed out."

Ron didn't say anything but looked at Hermione's worried face and then Harry's. He felt terrible – physically and emotionally. He was putting his friends through hell, he knew. Neither looked like they had slept in days.

"How can we get my temperature down?" he asked Hermione.

"You know the answer to that. I'm afraid I didn't find any ginger."

Ron sighed.

"Okay, I'll wear the compress only if you and Harry go to sleep for awhile."

This time it was Harry who protested and Ron interrupted him.

"Look mate," Ron said, with as much strength as he could muster. "Having both of you with me is great and all but I can be sick without you next to me twenty-four seven. You both look awful; you need to get some rest."

Harry looked at Hermione, who didn't know what to do.

"You promise you'll leave it alone and call if you need anything?" Hermione asked. Ron stared Hermione straight in the eye.

"I promise."

"Well …" Hermione's voice wavered and Ron looked to Harry for support.

"I'd say it's okay, Hermione. We'll be right over there and you're not a very heavy sleeper. If something happens, you'll be the first one back here. And Ron's right, we do need to get some sleep or we're going to be the ones who are sick."

Ron waited and Hermione finally nodded. She stood up, wrung out the cloth and placed it firmly where she wanted it.

"Leave it there." she instructed.

"I will." Ron told her, making himself comfortable. "Let's hope we all get some sleep."

Ron closed his eyes and listened as Harry and Hermione left his area and each climbed into their own beds. He could hear the springs creak as the mattresses took on the weight of their occupants.

"Sweet dreams, everybody." he said unnecessarily. Harry was already snoring.

**I'm sorry if you don't think it's good but that's all I've got tonight. Just as a side note, I got a few reviews saying how this was more H/Hr than R/Hr so I did switch the category but I am hoping for a few strong, cute R/Hr moments to come =) **

…**a review is always appreciated.**


	4. Author's Note

**Hey everyone,**

**So this little author's note is to point on two things:**

**One) I won't forget about this story but I am officially in overdrive mode due to stress so an update will have to wait for a few weeks.**

**Two) I've gotten quite a few complaints about the category of the story, whether it should be H/Hr or R/Hr and whatever I seem to do makes people upset and then they decide to send off a rude review. So I'm just saying that in case you haven't noticed, this isn't some story about Hermione hooking up with one of them, ending with some passionate scene. It's about the group of them working together as FRIENDS. That's all. **

**Anyways, thanks for all those who have read and I hope you're enjoying the story.**

**Happy reading and writing!**

**StoryLover18**


	5. An Idea is Born

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

**Hey everyone! Thanks so much for all the encouraging reviews that I received since I posted the author's note. Many of you are right about staying true to what I wanted and not letting people's opinions change what or how I write– and the story has been put back where it originally was =) So Exam Week has started but because my Sociology TA messed up the assignment, it is now MUCH shorter than expected and I celebrated by writing a chapter! I know it's short but I promise I'll write another one ASAP. Enjoy!**

Hermione lay in her bed. She was exhausted and yet she couldn't fall asleep. She kept listening for Ron but as far as she could tell, Ron had fallen asleep and the tent was quiet except for the snores coming from Harry's direction. Hermione rolled over onto her back and stared at the ceiling, thinking.

This was a new experience for her. She had never thought there would be something she would have to back down from and of all things, it had to be hurting Ron. She hated not being able to look the answer up in a book or fix it with a wave of her wand. And it hurt her watch Ron suffer like this; she would gladly switch places with him, if that was possible.

Ron, like Hermione, was exhausted but couldn't seem to fall asleep. He couldn't get comfortable – just about any position besides lying flat out hurt his stomach and Ron had never been able to sleep on his back. He lay there, enjoying the coolness of the cloth against his warm skin. He now truly regretted his decision to drink that water and he wondered how he could've ever been so stupid. Even after knowing they had been careful about making sure their water was safe, he still had to take a drink of it. Although it had been refreshing at the time, he was paying the price now. It was that bloody horcrux, Ron thought as he shifted on the camp cot that had once felt comfortable. But after today, Ron never wanted to spend another night in it. He wished he would just get better but he knew that it would take time. Ron sighed.

Hermione heard Ron sigh and she pushed herself up on her elbow. Squinting through the semi-dark tent, she saw Ron move. Hermione threw back her blanket and stood up quietly. She padded through the tent and stopped in the opening to Ron's 'bedroom'.

"Ron?" she whispered.

"Hermione?"

"Are you okay? You were sighing."

"I'm fine." Ron whispered back. Hermione came and sat on the edge of Ron's bed.

"Are you sure?" she asked, gently removing the compress. She re-wet and replaced it.

"I'll be okay, Hermione." Ron said.

"I feel so bad for you. And I can't do anything to help." Hermione spilled her thoughts to Ron.

"It's my own fault, Hermione. I'm the one who drank that water. It's my fault I'm sick." Ron's words did little to comfort Hermione and a single tear slid down her cheek. Ron reached up, wincing, and wiped it away.

"Hey, look at me." Ron said and Hermione, her eyes now swimming in tears, looked at Ron.

"This is not your fault. I'm not mad or anything because you can't do anything about it."

"I know but I feel bad for you. I wish we could trade places."

Ron's heart went through a range of emotions when he heard Hermione's words. It was incredibly sweet of her to want to trade places but then, he'd expect nothing less of his caring friend. On the other hand, Ron would never allow them to trade places, if was even possible. He couldn't imagine what it would be like, seeing Hermione in this much pain.

"Trust me, you don't want to have this."

"But it's going to wear you down, Ron. It'll take you weeks to recover from this. I just wish there was some way that Harry or I could take some of it from you."

"Hermione." Ron said seriously. "Even if there is a way to do that, don't. Having three half sick wizards is certainly worse than having one fully sick wizard and two healthy ones."

"But we'd all get better much quicker than you would if it was just you." Hermione's mind was racing; she was getting an idea.

"What?" Ron's clouded mind did not follow what Hermione had said.

"If all three of us split the sickness, then we'd each only be sick a few days, right? Well, being sick a few days isn't too hard to recover from. But being sick for a week or so takes awhile to recover from. And if we all had it for a day at a time, we wouldn't have a hard time getting better in the days between."

Hermione's eyes were shining and Ron knew she was cooking up a scheme and he knew he was able to do very little to stop her. He only hoped Harry saw things from his point of view. If there was ever a disagreement, it was voted upon and it looked like Harry would be the deciding vote.

"I've got to wake Harry." Hermione exclaimed, jumping up. Her sudden movement made Ron's bed bounce resiliently and Ron groaned and grabbed his stomach.

"Bloody hell, Hermione. Don't do that!" Ron moaned.

"Sorry."

"And don't wake Harry up yet. If he agrees with you about this, he's going to need all the sleep he can get. You don't sleep easily when you're throwing up every few minutes."

Hermione thought and decided Ron was right.

"And you should get some sleep while you can, too." Ron said. "I've got a feeling that there's no talking you out of whatever plan you're coming up with."

Hermione's faced portrayed no emotion.

"You should get some sleep Ron."

"I will if you will."

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Call if you need anything." she said before turning back to her bed. She crawled in and lay there, wide awake. There was no way she could fall asleep now; her mind was going a million miles an hour.

Would it work? Hermione couldn't think why it wouldn't. She had seen much more complicated uses of the spell before and they had all worked perfectly. However, they had been done by Professor McGonagall but this wasn't that hard.

What could go wrong? Well, about a million things could go wrong but Hermione could just tell that it would work. And if it did work, then they could take turns being sick.

Hermione remembered reading that Giardia usually hung on for a week to two weeks and as long as the patient stayed hydrated, it would take care of itself. That meant that they would each have to take three or four days.

If it did work, there was a lot they could to do to make the disease as short-lived as possible. Being hydrated at the beginning … but that might not work totally, Hermione realized. But being rested wouldn't change, would it?

As Ron had realized, Hermione knew that having Harry's support in this plan would be vital. If he didn't agree then Ron would go on being sick alone.

Hermione sighed impatiently as Harry snored away.

**So here's to TA's that mess up the assignment =) I know I left you with a cliffie but it was just too good of a chance to pass up. Review?**


	6. The Moment of Truth

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

**Hey everyone! I'm so glad so many of you are enjoying the story so far =) I'm having a lot of fun writing it. So I have found a way for Harry, Hermione and Ron to share Ron's Giardia. Believe it or not, the idea came from a real spell that's used in the books. So read on and find out what it is … enjoy! **

Hermione managed to fall asleep sporadically, although she didn't stay sleeping very long. A few times she got up to check on Ron, who was in a state of semi-awareness, driven there by pure exhaustion. She peeked at Harry a few times too, who, much to her annoyance, was still fast asleep. Finally, around three o'clock in the morning, Hermione managed to fall asleep and stay asleep until just before dawn.

When Hermione woke up she could Harry moving around in the kitchen and she began to roll over before she remembered her plan and she quickly threw back the covers.

"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed, coming into the kitchen. Harry, who had been peering warily into a cup, jumped and looked up.

"Hermione, you scared me!"

"Sorry." Hermione said offhandedly. "Have you talked to Ron this morning?"

Hermione truly hoped he had not; she had wanted to talk with him about her idea before Ron tried to convince him it wasn't a good plan. Harry nodded.

"I'm trying to make him some tea but I'm not having much luck." Harry motioned to the cup.

"Did Ron mention anything … unusual … to you?" Hermione had pulled out her wand and had easily changed the water into a weak cup of tea.

"Unusual?" Harry's brow creased. "Not that I can remember. Why?"

Hermione breathed an inward sigh of relief.

"I had an idea. So why don't you bring Ron his tea and I'll explain it to both of you and see what you think."

Harry nodded and carried the tea cup. Hermione followed, detouring to her bed to grab a blanket – it was freezing in the tent this morning; winter was soon approaching.

"Thanks, mate." Ron answered tiredly and accepted the tea as his friends each pulled up a chair next to his bed.

"So Hermione, what's this idea you had?" Harry asked. Ron raised an eyebrow at Hermione, which she ignored and took a deep breath before beginning.

"I had the idea that maybe we could split Ron's Giardia. It would mean taking shifts of being sick, say a day at a time. By doing that, it could mean getting rid of the virus faster. We could each be really rested and everything before taking our turn and that would shorten the recovery time."

Hermione paused to let Ron and Harry say something. She knew they were dying to speak but they knew better to interrupt her.

"I already told her I wouldn't let you do that." Ron said immediately. "This is my fault and there's no way I'd let you be sick for me."

"Is that even possible?" Harry asked, ignoring what Ron had said. Like Hermione, he was willing to do just about anything to help his friend. Hermione nodded.

"I think it is."

"How though? I've never heard of a spell that can transfer sickness."

"There isn't one." Hermione answered. "The idea I had was to use a switching spell. If we switch digestive systems, we switch the sickness."

"Are you mad?" Ron exploded. His rage seemed to make him feel better because he had sat straight up without complaining.

"You really think that'll work?" Harry asked, deep in thought. "There won't be any other side-effects?"

"I've thought a lot about it and I really think it will work. Like I said, if we're well rested and well hydrated before switching, then it'll be easier to kill the bug."

Harry sat there, his eyebrows knit together. Ron could tell he was thinking hard about the idea and had to say something.

"Harry, no. I am not letting you do that! What if something happens? What if it doesn't work? It could kill you."

Harry continued to think in silence.

"I think Hermione's right, Ron." Harry said at last. "Giardia lasts about two weeks. That's an awfully long time for you to be sick and if we take turns, we can do a lot to make you get better faster."

Hermione smiled, excited that Harry had agreed with her.

"Ron, we want to do this. It's what's best for all of us."

Ron scowled and then sighed.

"I guess, if you're sure."

"We are." Harry said and then looked at Hermione.

"I guess I'll take the first shift, seeing as I don't know how to do the spell."

Hermione nodded and pulled out her wand.

"You ready?" she asked and both Ron and Harry nodded.

Harry stood up next to Ron and Hermione took a deep breath, silently praying she wasn't about to kill her best friends.

"Okay. Here we go." Hermione raised her wand and said the incantation. Nothing appeared to be happening for a minute and then almost instantaneously, Harry and Ron both grabbed their abdomens. They both cried out loudly in pain but as quickly as it had come, it left. Harry sank to down to the chair and leaned forward, letting his elbows rest on his knees.

"Harry, how do you feel?" Hermione asked nervously.

Harry straightened up unsteadily.

"Hermione … " he said slowly. "I think it worked."

Harry grabbed at the basin sitting on the table and despite the fact that her best friend was throwing up violently, Hermione smiled.

"How about you?" she asked Ron.

"I'm fine but I feel awfully bad for Harry right about now."

Ron swung his feet over the side of the bed and stood up easily. By this time, Harry had stopped retching and was breathing heavily.

"Come on, Harry." Hermione had moved to Harry's side. She gently took one of Harry's arms and pulled him to his feet. Harry moaned slightly.

"You're burning up. You need to be in bed."

**I'm quite excited to continue this now … the three of them taking care of each other is always fun to write =) And exams are done on Friday, which means I'll have all the time in the world (until I find a job, that is). Anyways … review, please? **


	7. The First Turn

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

**Hey everyone! Thanks for all the reads/reviews/favs! They mean so much to me =) So this chapter is much longer than it was intended to be but I'm pretty sure you'll be okay with that. Enjoy!**

Ron stood off to the side, watching Hermione help Harry into bed. He saw Harry close his eyes gratefully as his head hit the pillow and Hermione laid a hand on Harry's brow.

"The fever is down a little bit." Ron heard Hermione murmur and Harry just groaned and rolled onto his side. Hermione pulled the blankets up around Harry's shoulders and left him there. She joined Ron.

"And you feel okay?" she asked, turning to watch Harry with Ron.

"Oh yeah, I feel brilliant. Besides the fact that I have to watch my best friends be sick because of my stupidity, I'm excellent."

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Ron, we've told you. We're more than willing to do this for you so stop complaining about it."

Ron's eyes stayed fixed on Harry.

"I know. Since you're being sick for me, then at least let me take care of you."

Ron's words coaxed a smile out of Hermione and she turned and looked at him.

"That's really sweet, Ron. But I'm afraid you won't be able to. Not if we want this to work."

"Why not?" Ron said indignantly. "He's my best friend and if he's sick because of me, then I'll be next to him, doing everything I can to help him."

"I'm serious, Ron. You need to drink some water and then get some sleep. I need to do the same because I'll be next. Once we get ahead of this thing, then there will always be someone who has slept well enough to be there, but for right now, we both need to get some rest."

Hermione gave Ron a Look and he knew better than to argue. Instead, he followed her into the kitchen, where she got them each a big glass of water.

"Cheers." she said, before drinking the entire lot in one long gulp.

Ron drank his water a little more slowly, still wary about the fact that he might be sick even though he knew his insides were inside Harry at the moment. Nonetheless, he finished the entire glass and set it on the counter next to Hermione's.

"Bed. Now." Hermione didn't ask and Ron didn't argue. He shuffled off to bed while Hermione went to check on Harry before crawling in bed herself.

"Harry?" Hermione whispered and Harry rolled over enough to crack an eye open and see Hermione's face peering down at him.

"Hmm?"

"We're going to get some sleep, Ron and I. If you need anything, just call, okay? There's some water on the table next to the basin. Try and drink some, if you can."

"'Kay." Harry said before allowing his eyes to slide close again. Hermione sighed as she instinctively laid her hand on Harry's flushed cheek again. Harry didn't even stir and after a moment, Hermione drew back her hand and went to her own bed. Surprisingly, she fell asleep almost instantly.

Ron, on the other hand, couldn't keep his eyes closed. Even though he knew he was tired, he kept listening for sounds coming from Harry's bed. He felt like Hermione, hovering like this. He kept telling himself to go back to sleep and that once he had gotten some sleep, he could take care of Harry and Hermione. After what felt like hours, sleep finally found Ron.

Harry had been dreaming and in his dream, he was seeing all his friends at Hogwarts. Instead of the terror that he knew currently reigned there, they were all playing Quidditch in the bright afternoon sun, a slight breeze blowing across the pitch. He had just gone into a Wronski feint to try and fool the other Seeker. In his dream, he could feel his stomach drop in that sensation that he loved but back in reality, it was that sensation that woke him up and made him lunge for a basin. After being sick, Harry leaned back, breathing deeply.

He hoped he hadn't awoken Hermione or Ron and when no one came to his side after a minute, he figured they were both out cold. He sighed deeply. He didn't mind doing this for Ron, although the idea seemed much more appealing when he wasn't the one throwing up. Even so, he knew that this was what needed to be done to get past this hurtle and move onto the end result: finding and destroying the horcruxes.

Harry remembered the water Hermione had left him and he forced himself to take a drink. He could feel the liquid slide down his burning throat and he had to fight to keep it down but in the end, he succeeded. He rolled over, hoping to go back to sleep so his turn with the bug could be over that much sooner.

Hermione woke up several hours later, pleased at how long she had slept. The first thing she did when she got up was drink another big glass of water, knowing that it was almost her turn to take the bug. She walked through the quiet tent to Harry's bed and was surprised to see Ron sitting next to Harry. Harry was now sporting a cloth laid across his brow; the two had been talking about what the Quidditch Cup standings were for the year.

"Hermione, you're awake. Sleep well?" Ron asked. Hermione noticed that Ron looked much better. The bags under his eyes were gone and he had a nice rosy complexion. He was even smiling. She smiled back and pulled up another chair.

"Very well, in fact. How are you feeling, Harry?"

"I'm doing alright."

"His fever went up, I think. So I did what I thought you would do. Is that alright?" Ron looked so scared that he might've done something wrong that Hermione had to fight laughter.

"You did fine, Ron." she said, removing the cloth so she could feel Harry's forehead.

"It worked, too, by the looks of it."

She replaced the cloth and then checked her watch.

"Do you remember what time we switched?"

"It was about ten o'clock. What time is it now?" Ron answered.

"It's almost five."

"Were you able to get any sleep, Harry?"

"A bit but I kept waking up to be sick."

"And you, Ron?"

"Yeah, I slept until about an hour ago. I feel pretty good even."

Hermione thought.

"So why don't you and I have some supper, Ron. We'll make a plate for you, Harry, and we'll keep it warm. We can switch around ten o'clock again; that's twelve hours and that seems like a good period of time to stick to. Does that sound okay?"

Hermione looked to Ron and Harry, who both nodded.

"Brilliant. I'm going to go see what I can find for supper."

Hermione headed for the kitchen and Ron and Harry went back to talking about Quidditch until Hermione called to Ron.

"Ron, supper's ready!"

"I'll be right there, Hermione." Ron said, getting up. "Try and get some sleep, Harry."

Harry nodded and watched at Ron left. His stomach felt queasy about just the idea of eating anything at the moment and he closed his eyes, willing himself to think about something else.

After a sparse meal of some hard bread and a sort of bland soup, Hermione gulped another big glass of water. Ron volunteered to clean the kitchen if Hermione wanted to try and get another few hours of sleep. Hermione accepted the offer and went to her bunk and lay down but realized very quickly she was not going to get any more sleep.

She went back to Harry's bed and sat with her friends. They began talking like they used to – carefree and cheerful.

"I had a dream," Harry told them after an hour of chatting. "About everyone at Hogwarts."

"Like who?" Ron asked.

"Luna was there. So were Ginny and Neville. I think Dean was there and so was Lavender."

Ron made a face at the sound of Lavender's name.

"Lavender was there? That's not a dream, mate, that's a nightmare."

All three of them laughed again. It felt good to laugh; there had been so much tension building ever since they had left Grimmauld Place and it had only gotten worse when Ron had gotten sick. They needed to laugh and think about life before all of this had happened.

Like a nasty reminder, the laughter caused Harry to be sick yet again and when he was done, Hermione spoke.

"Well, it's just past nine-thirty. What do you say…should we switch?"

Ron nodded and pulled out his wand. Hermione told him the incantation and had him say it a few times for practice.

"Alright, you've got it right. Let me just get another drink before switching."

Hermione quickly drank another cup of water and then stood next to the head of Harry's bed.

"Okay, I'm ready."

Ron said the spell and after watching Harry and Hermione grope in pain, it became clear that the switch had been made. Harry sat up easily, the color returning to his cheeks. Hermione clutched her stomach, bent double, and groped at the bed frame for support.

"Whoa, Hermione." Ron moved quickly to catch Hermione as she began to fall forward.

"Come to bed, now." Ron gently helped Hermione into her own bed and moved the basin of water as well as their 'sick basin' to Hermione's area.

"Thanks." she murmured, her eyes closed. Ron could tell that she had her own way of dealing with the pain.

"How's Harry?" she whispered a minute later. She opened her eyes and squinted up at Ron. At the sound of his name, Harry came next to Ron.

"I'm fine, Hermione. It's you we need to worry about, now. Just relax and let us take care of you."

Harry knew that that would not be easy for Hermione. She was so used to being the one to fix things, being the one to take care of them. In all honesty, Ron and Harry would be lost without her and Harry couldn't count the number of times she had saved the day.

"Did you hear that, Hermione?" Ron asked, gently stroking her hair. "It's our turn to take care of you."

Hermione closed her eyes again and smiled amidst her pain.

**What did you think? I'm super excited to write the next chapter … seeing Harry and Ron taking care of Hermione is super cute (at least it is in my head). After that, I need to figure out where to go from there but I'll worry about that later. Review, please? **


	8. The Second Turn

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

**I think you deserve an apology so I'm SO SORRY that it's taken this long for an update! I've had really bad writers block for awhile but I managed to finally break it (YAH!) So enjoy =) **

Ron sat, stroking Hermione's hair until she fell asleep. Twisting around, he turned to look at Harry.

"How are you feeling, mate?" He asked. Harry was sitting on the edge of his bed, turned towards Hermione's bed.

"I'm alright. I just need to get some sleep and I'll be fine." Harry was feeling the physical effects of the switch more than Ron had and Ron could see that written on his face.

"Make sure you drink a lot. It'll help you feel better."

Harry nodded and attempted to stand but began to waver. Ron left Hermione's side and quickly went to Harry. He stabilized his friend and helped him sit back down.

"Easy, Harry. You may not be sick anymore but your body's just been through a crusade. It's going to take a little while to adjust. Relax, I'll get you some water."

Harry stretched out on his bed and Ron returned with a glass. Harry drank all of it under Ron's watchful eye before taking off his glasses and going to sleep.

With Harry sleeping, Ron didn't feel bad about pulling up a chair next to Hermione's bed and watching her sleep restlessly.

After about an hour of tossing and turning, Hermione's eyes flew open and she sat bolt upright. Ron jumped; he had been studying Hermione's features and he began to turn red. Hermione, however, was not paying attention to Ron's face.

"I'm going to be sick." She managed to mutter with a hand clamped over her mouth. Ron handed her the basin and he held back her hair as she did her business. When she was finished, Ron muttered "_Tergio_" and watched the mess disappear.

"Is there any water?" Hermione whispered.

"Water? Sure, one second." Ron hurried into the kitchen and returned with a glass of water. He handed it to Hermione, whose hands were shaking.

"Thank you."

She lifted the glass to her lips and drank slowly. To Ron's surprise, she finished the glass.

"How do you do that?" Ron asked as Hermione lay down again and closed her eyes momentarily.

"Do what?"

"Drink all of that. It's just going to come up again."

Hermione shook her head.

"No, it won't."

"How do you know?"

"I just do, Ron." Hermione said with a smile that was almost sad. Ron smiled back.

"Are you in pain?" Ron asked, noticing Hermione had closed her eyes again and was taking deep breaths. Hermione didn't open her eyes or say anything; she just nodded.

"Can you get me something?" She asked a moment later.

"Of course. Anything." Ron said immediately.

"Take the brick from my bag and put it in the fire for a few minutes. Then take it out and wrap it in a towel."

Ron looked at Hermione like she was Fluffy. Hermione opened her eyes.

"Please?" She sounded so pitiful that Ron didn't hesitate. He got up and did what she had instructed. A few minutes later he brought back the bundle.

"Here." He handed her the towel and she took it and placed it next to her stomach. She sighed as the warmth spread through her. Ron was still looking at her, a question written in his eyes.

"It's something my mother used to do when I had a stomach ache when I was little. She would give me a hot water bottle and it always helped the pain to go away." Hermione explained, closing her eyes.

"Go back to sleep." Ron said gently and Hermione murmured softly and a few moments later, she was asleep again.

Ron got up and got himself a glass of water. While he was sipping it slowly, he looked outside the front flap. It was still raining and everything was dripping. It was rather depressing, Ron thought.

"Bleak, isn't it?" Harry said coming up behind Ron.

"Yeah."

"How's Hermione?" Harry asked, sipping his own cup of water.

"She's sleeping."

"Good. Sleep is good."

"How are you?" Ron turned around and went and sat by the fire. Harry joined him.

"Still a little tired but I'll be fine. How are you?"

Ron shrugged.

"I'm okay. I'm worried about Hermione."

Harry smiled.

"Hermione'll be fine. She knows how to take care of herself."

"I know but I hate seeing her like that."

"This is what being friends is about, Ron. Being there through everything, the nice and the …" Harry's voice trailed off.

"This?" Ron guessed.

"Exactly. We just need to be there for each other and when this is all over, it'll only make us stronger."

"It feels kinda weird, though, doesn't it? I mean, I have your digestive system inside of me right now. You have part of Hermione in you and Hermione has a part of me."

"It's weird when you say it like that."

"But that's exactly what it is. It's kinda creepy."

Harry agreed and they lapsed into a monetary silence.

"So I was thinking," Harry began. "Why don't we split the rest of the night in two? One of us stays up for the first half and then we'll switch."

"Sounds good." Ron nodded.

"Brilliant. If it's midnight now and we need to make the next switch at ten tomorrow morning, then we should change places around five."

"You go to bed now." Ron said.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm going to sit with Hermione for awhile. I couldn't sleep right now if I tried."

"Okay." Harry said, standing. "Wake me if you need anything."

Ron nodded and Harry went to bed. All was quiet in the small tent as Ron continued to stare into the fire.

**A review is always appreciated … **


	9. A Different Type of Horcrux

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

**Hey everyone … so it's confession time. Although I greatly appreciate the reviews and reads I've been getting, I am consistently losing motivation for this so I don't know how much longer it will be or how good it will be but nonetheless, I'll try my best and I hope you enjoy it =)**

Ron pulled himself away from the fire when he heard Hermione groan. Putting his glass on the ground, he hurried over to her bedside.

"Hermione?" he asked softly. Hermione did not open her eyes but rolled over carelessly. The brick fell out of the bed and landed on Ron's foot.

"Bloody hell!" Ron cursed, grabbing his foot.

Still swearing and holding his injured foot, Ron saw Hermione's face; her eyes were shut tightly and her brow was wrinkled. Ron reached out and laid a hand on her forehead.

"You're burning up, Hermione." he muttered, his toe forgotten. He looked over and saw Harry already sleeping; Ron decided he didn't want to wake his friend. He'd only just pace with worry so Ron might as well let him be naive and sleep.

Ron stared deeply at Hermione's face; it was filled with pain and watching it made Ron's heart break. He couldn't believe he'd agreed to let Hermione and Harry take his sickness from him. Hermione let out another low moan and it was that which once again sent Ron into action.

Ron got up and found some fresh water in a clean basin. He dipped a new cloth into the cool water and began sponging Hermione's face. Much to Ron's chagrin, Hermione did not acknowledge the touch of water to skin. He took that as a bad sign.

Ron lost track of time and he jumped when Harry touched him on the shoulder.

"Blimey, Harry!" Ron exclaimed louder than he meant to. Hermione startled and her eyes slowly cracked open.

"What's going on?" she croaked. Ron gave a Harry look that clearly said 'way to go'.

"Shh. It's okay." Ron said, gently tucking a piece of hair behind Hermione's ear.

"How are you feeling?" Harry asked. Hermione rolled onto her back and stretched her arms above her head.

"Why does this hurt so much?" She answered, grimacing.

"I'm sorry, Hermione. This is all my fault." Ron said. "You and Harry should just switch everything around so it's just me who's sick again. You don't need to suffer like this."

Before Ron had finished speaking, Hermione had begun to gag. Even as she was leaning over the basin, she looked at Ron through her hair, which had fallen out of its ponytail.

"Don't be crazy."

She was going to say more but Hermione was sick again.

"This is what friends do for each other." She said breathlessly.

"Bloody hell, Hermione." Ron exclaimed. "What kind of friend would I be if I let you keep being sick? Huh?"

Ron's reaction startled Harry and for a moment, he thought Ron might be wearing the horcrux. Ron had stood up now, breathing hard and looking angry. Harry thought it was a good time to suggest Ron get some sleep.

"Uh, look Ron, we're going to switch in a couple of hours so why don't you get some sleep for now and I'll stay with Hermione."

Ron didn't move and Harry put his hand on his friend's shoulder and pulled him towards his bunk. He sat Ron down and took the cloth from his hand. Ron seemed to leave his state of anger and his eyes filled with sadness.

"I'm sorry, Harry." he said. Harry didn't say anything but Ron let him pull the blanket around him and then Harry left Ron starring at the tent roof.

Harry went back to Hermione, who was still sitting up with the basin in her hands. Harry gently took it from her hands and cleaned it out. Hermione continued to sit there, hair draping her face, until Harry guided her shoulders down again. It wasn't until the hair had been moved from her face that Harry saw the tear tracks running down her face.

"Hermione," Harry said softly. "Ron, he doesn't mean anything. You know that, right?"

Hermione turned her head towards the canvas, away from Harry, and nodded.

"He just can't stand to see you like this. He's really hurting, Hermione."

"Can I have some water?"

Hermione turned back to Harry, acting as though she hadn't heard Harry's comment. Harry decided not to press it any further and filled the glass near the bed with water.

With Harry's help, Hermione drank and then lay down again.

"Just a few more hours, Hermione. You're doing great." Harry said, patting her hand.

Hermione fell asleep and Harry was left sitting here. He realized he should keep going on with the cloth, like Ron had been doing.

After awhile, Harry looked over to Ron and saw him sleeping, too. Harry was glad Ron was getting some sleep and hoped then when he woke up, he would be in a better mood. However, Harry quickly remembered that even if he was, the good mood would not last long: Ron was next.

…**Review?**


	10. Full Circle

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

**Hey everyone! I've gotten a request from one of my reviewers for an update so although I'm still struggling to figure out how to end the story, here's a chapter. I'm sorry it's so short but it's all I can manage right now. Enjoy!**

Harry didn't want to wake Hermione from her peaceful slumber but Ron insisted.

"Come on, Harry. It's time to switch and then Hermione can go back to sleep."

Against his better judgement, Harry shook Hermione's shoulder gently.

"Hermione?" he whispered. Hermione's brow wrinkled as she was unpleasantly woken.

"Go away, Harry." Hermione muttered and Harry turned and gave Ron a pointed look.

"I know you're tired, Hermione, but it's time to switch. Then you can go back to sleep." Harry said and Hermione opened her eyes. She sat up slowly, adjusting to the light.

"Okay, I'm ready." she said after a moment.

"Are you ready, Ron?" Harry asked and his friend nodded almost excitedly.

"Alright then. Here we go."

Harry pulled out his wand and said the incantation. He watched as Hermione and Ron went through the painful switch and then jumped up to support Ron, who bent over and clutched his stomach in pain.

"Well this isn't so bad." Ron said after a moment. "Loads better than last time."

"Mhmm." Harry murmured. "Come on."

Ron let Harry lead him to his bed. He lay down and stretched out.

"I shouldn't have done that." Ron realized after a few seconds had passed. Harry saw 'The Look' come over Ron.

"_Accio_ basin." Harry commanded and he handed the basin to Ron before walking over to Hermione, who was still in her bed.

"How do you feel?" Harry asked, picking up the basin of water and cloth.

"I'm okay." Hermione said with a yawn.

"You should get some sleep." Harry told her trying to balance the basin and the glass that had been sitting on the floor. Hermione nodded.

"I will, but first I want some water."

Hermione threw back her covers but Harry shook his head.

"Stay there. I'll bring you some."

Hermione pulled the covers around her feet again and smiled.

"Thanks, Harry."

"Don't mention it."

Harry took his load into the kitchen; he wrung out the cloth and hung it out to dry and then got Hermione a glass of water.

"There you go. I'm going to check on Ron. Call if you need me for anything."

Hermione nodded as she slowly drank the water. Harry went to Ron.

"How are you doing?" Harry asked with his arms folded.

"I'm okay." Ron said with as much strength as he could muster.

"Cut the lies, Ron. How are you feeling?" Harry saw right through Ron's ruse. Ron sighed and lowered his voice.

"I feel lousy but I'm just glad it's me who's sick again. I can't stand watching you or Hermione be so sick for me."

Harry didn't say anything and Ron thought he might be angry. But Harry wasn't angry, rather just the opposite. He hadn't felt this close to his friends in a long, long time and although he wished it wasn't because of this, it felt good.

"Get some sleep, Ron." Harry said.

"You too, mate. You look whipped."

Harry nodded and after watching Ron's eyes close, he turned to his own bunk.

"_Reducto_." Harry said, pointing at the fire. The light in the tent dimmed and he crawled under his blankets and fell asleep instantly.

**Quiz time! Just to see if you're paying attention, what digestive system do Ron, Harry and Hermione each have? **


	11. It Made Us Stronger

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

**Hey everyone. I owe you all a MAJOR apology because it has taken SO long for an update so I'm really sorry! Along with every great apology comes great bit thanks for patience, so THANK YOU! I lost every ounce of inspiration I had for this and I finally forced myself to write an ending. However, for forcing myself to write, I'm actually quite pleased with the ending. I hope you enjoy it!**

**Oh! I almost forgot the answer to the quiz! At the beginning of this chapter, Ron has his own system, Harry has Hermione's and Hermione has Harry's. Congrats to all who got it right and if you didn't, don't worry about it because even I had to sit down and write it out and I'm the author =) **

Silence filled the canvas tent once again and when Hermione woke up several hours later, she had to remind herself that she was no longer ill. She sat up, her muscles stiff, and stretched. Although she was sore (who wouldn't be after throwing up for twelve straight hours?), Hermione couldn't deny that she felt better.

Pulling her quilt off the bed with her, she padded through the silent tent to the kitchen. She drank a glass of water and felt the cool liquid slide down her parched throat. Hermione tried to think who had the virus right now and after a minute, she realized it was Ron. She went to his bed and sat on the edge.

Her movement caused Ron's eyes to open slightly and when Ron saw Hermione peering down at him, he smiled.

"Hey." he croaked.

"How do you feel?" Hermione asked, pushing a damp strand of Ron's hair out of his eyes.

"I'm alright. I'm just glad that you're better." Ron said. Hermione smiled softly.

"I can't stand seeing you like that, Hermione."

"I'll tell you a secret," Hermione replied quietly. "I can't stand seeing you like this, either."

"I'm not letting you do this again." Ron's voice, although jagged, was firm.

"We'll talk about that later. Right now, you need to get some rest. Have you been sick much?"

Ron shook his head.

"I think that part is just about over," Hermione said. "I wasn't sick that often. Every once and awhile but it wasn't too bad. We're beating this, Ron."

"I know. But I'm still not going to let you be sick again."

Ron closed his eyes and Hermione sat and watched him for a few minutes before getting up, pulling the quilt around her, and retreating back to her bed.

Hermione listened to the rain, which was still coming down. She missed her parents; she wondered if they would like Ron. They had never met him, although she had told them all about him and Harry. But her parents wouldn't remember those conversations now, they wouldn't even remember her. Hermione let a lone tear run down her cheek.

-HARRY POTTER-

Hermione must've fallen asleep because the next thing she knew, she heard voices. She sat up and looked at Ron's bed. He was propped up, looking much better than a few days ago, and Harry was sitting on the chair that moved from bedside to bedside. She smiled when she heard them laugh. They hadn't laughed like that in a long time.

"What's so funny?" Hermione asked as she walked over, still wrapped in her quilt.

"Oh, sorry, Hermione. We didn't mean to wake you." Harry said, trying to control his laughter.

"It's alright. I needed to get up anyways."

"How do you feel?" Harry asked.

"I'm fine. How are you?" she asked Ron.

"I'm alright, but Harry and I have reached a decision."

Hermione's eyes narrowed and darted back and forth from Ron to Harry.

"What kind of decision?"

"We decided that you are no longer going to take a turn in the cycle." Harry said firmly. Before Hermione had time to even open her mouth to protest, Ron put up his hand.

"Just hear us out, Hermione." Ron said. "Neither Harry or I like seeing you be sick and we can't afford for anything to happen to you."

"I am not going to just sit around and watch my friends suffer!" Hermione exclaimed.

"And you're not going to." Harry said.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Ron and I thought that if you're not sick, you can wear the horcrux. I don't like the idea of it sitting in the bag for that long. Also, to be perfectly honest, you're good at taking us." Harry said.

Hermione didn't say anything. She understood about the horcrux; that much made sense. But Hermione couldn't decide whether to be offended or touched by the fact that Harry and Ron thought she should take care of them. She thought for a moment before deciding it was touching (as sexists as it was, she had to admit that she was better at taking care of people than they were. She blamed it on her motherly nature).

"I'll agree on one condition." Hermione said. Ron and Harry looked at each other and then at Hermione.

"What?"

Hermione grinned.

"That Ron never drinks bad water again."

"You've got yourself a deal." Ron said with a wide grin. He didn't care that he would be sick more often now. He was just glad he wouldn't have to watch Hermione hurt anymore.

-HARRY POTTER-

Over the next few days, a pattern developed. After Harry and Hermione had switched systems, things were all set in place and every twelve hours, like clockwork, Ron and Harry would switch. They were slowly getting better, with spasms of pain, vomiting and fever decreasing with each transition. Hermione wore the horcrux twelve hours a day and the other twelve, she spent at someone's bedside. Because the switches were more regular, regardless if they had the virus or not, Harry and Ron never felt great.

Hermione one morning decided that it was time to move so, feeling horrible for waking up Ron and Harry, she took their hands and turned away into the darkness. They reappeared in a nice, grassy meadow and the sun was shining brightly. She quickly said the spells and set up the tent before helping both boys back into bed. She left the front flap of the tent open and allowed the fresh air to blow through the tent.

"I think," she said to Harry, who was recovering, "that we've made it though the worst."

Harry nodded and added,

"And it didn't kill us."

Hermione smiled.  
"No, it didn't. It made us stronger. I think Dumbledore would've been proud of how we pulled together."

Harry smiled back.

"You're right, Hermione, he would be. I'm sure of it."

**Review?**

**And that's all she wrote. For the record, I think the assumption that girls should take care of boys is TOTALLY sexist but a lot of the time, it's just in our nature. Anyways, thank you for reading **_**That Which Does Not Kill Us**_** and I hope you enjoyed it!**

**Happy reading and writing,**

**StoryLover18**


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